El Cheapo Bandsaw Woes

[Mike OMelia]

Ok, so I have this cheap Ohio Forge Band Saw, 3 wheel, 10". It's prolly older than dirt. But, I finally found a use for it. Making guitar rosette parts. I built a specially designed jig for it. I needed to cut some metal, so I got a 56" metal blade from DoAll. It was a bit thick in the kerf... too much so for this saw. After a little cutting, it acted up. Turns out it wore the bottom wheel down badly (they're made out of plastic!)

Anyways, I already bought several 56" blades, made the jig, etc. Now I have a dysfunctional (cheap) bandsaw that I cannot find wheels for. Heck, I only paid $25 for saw in the first place!

So, its either find another saw just like it, or find a wheel source (very unlikely!)

I really hate tossing the blades.

Ideas?

Mike (whaa)

[Dan Friedrichs]

Make a wooden wheel?

[David Christopher]

Make a wooden wheel?



I think Dan's idea will work better than anything else, and its cheap

[Mike OMelia]

That seems reasonable. Had not thought about that. Crap, the blades I bought are worth more than the stupid saw. One step forward, two steps back. Enjoy the journey, right?:)

Unless someone steps in and says "I have those wheels", I am gonna try a wooden one. I bet making them "multi-ply" is the way to go?

Mike

[Cary Falk]

Sell the blades on e-bay. Maybe try to part the rest of the parts of the saw on e-bay. Buy a different saw. The small Rikon and the Craftsman(Rikon clone) gets good reviews. I think the 10" Craftsman can be had for $99 at times. The 3 wheel bandsaws are the devil so I hear.

[Mike OMelia]

Can be the devil, tough on blades due to the small wheels. Really, I was just trying to make a jig. This kind of work is too small for my 18" bandsaw. I might even consider tossing in the towel for a 10" delta.

Mike

[Scott Hildenbrand]

Make a wooden wheel?

+1 vote on a woody..

[Myk Rian]

It's worth a try to make some. My Bro-in-law did it for a tiller.

[Pete Bradley]

Don't put another minute or dollar into the saw. Keep the bands to make bowsaws or something. Watch craigslist for a delta homecraft 10" or a decent 14" saw.

Pete

[Brad Wood]

i don't know about your area, but I see used small bandsaws for sale on CL constantly... probably the most listed workshop bench power tool I see (not including lots of hand tools and such). I particularly see a LOT of the older Craftsman saws where the whole body of the saw tilts and the table stays level.

I'd try to resell the blades, pick up a used benchtop of CL, and call it good. Seems like a lot of work to put in for a nice balanced wheel that the blade will track properly on.

[Mike OMelia]

Funny. I found a parts list for it. There is nothing wrong with my wheels. The blade was "too much" for the saw. No big deal. I put one of my lighter blades back on and it still works fine!

Mike